Home networks initially provided users with the ability to wirelessly connect to computer devices with a router to provide Internet access. However, the home networks have become increasingly complex with the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and the growth of other wireless devices. The demands on home networks for residential and other telecommunications subscribers have been expanding due to a proliferation in new technology. Specifically, the architecture of a typical home network was designed many years ago, and does not adequately support the increasing demands of new technology requirements, deeper security needs, and greater number of user devices.
Most subscribers today connect to the Internet using a single home router or modem/router combination (i.e., home gateway), which provides network connectivity to enable Internet access. However, there is an increasing need to configure, manage, and optimize the performance requirements of a rapidly growing list of diverse devices in the home network architecture in addition to accessing the internet. Specifically, subscribers may want to extend the reach of their wireless local area networks (WLANs), or to add services such as home automation, security, IP video, and sensor networks (e.g., Internet of Things (IoT)). Further, multiple devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, etc.) may be interconnected within the home for video streaming or remote printing from tablets. Although these goals may be met by adding extra routers or wireless extenders (Mesh Networking) to the home network, such addition may be undesirable for residential subscribers. Further, adding routers may require multiple layers of network address translation (NAT), hindering the ability of devices to easily communicate with one another.
Further, telecommunications service provider networks may include a large variety of uniquely configured hardware devices, presenting challenges for launching new network services. Such challenges may include, for example, investment requirements for the additional appliances, and integration with existing hardware as new technology and services are developed. Therefore, an undesirable lack of flexibility in the network may exist for both service providers and consumers.